Diamond Bar : Road Worker Memorialized
Praising the dedication of a state highway worker who was struck and killed while working on the Pomona Freeway in April, local and state officials dedicated a maintenance facility on Friday to the late Juan (John) Thome of Walnut.
Jerry B. Baxter, head of the Los Angeles regional office of the California Department of Transportation, said the building on Golden Springs Road was named for Thome “because it allows us to recognize John for his outstanding contribution to Caltrans and the public he served.”
It is the first building Caltrans has dedicated in the state to a worker. Officials say 55 workers have been killed on the job since 1972.
When he died, Thome, 47, was wearing a black arm band in memory of other Caltrans workers who had been killed in the line of duty. He was hit by a truck. Two other Caltrans employees were injured in the April 28 crash.
Thome was a landscape maintenance worker. This year, three Caltrans workers have died after being struck on the job by vehicles.
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